Newbie, where to start ? Ideas ?

antman

New member
1040685

I just purchased a 1978 CJ7 Renegade Levi Edition



specs:



Auto with tilt

Quadratrac

304 V8

Hard top and doors

Power Steering/brakes



The story:



Been looking for a project for months now. Everything was either restored, or junk that was poorly modified. Seen a add in the local trader, called up and got some info. Owner stated that he was original owner, and jeep had been garaged since 1992. Reason, he claims he threw a rod in the motor. The body on the jeep was rough, floor gone, body falling apart. Silly thing though, the full doors were solid,with not a spec of rust. Hardtop, awesome, cept for normal tailgate problems.



There were NO oil/fluid leaks under the vehicle where it had been sitting. When I picked it up today, I tossed the jeep in N, and the thing rolled with easy. The brakes even worked. Got the jeep on the street, awaiting the flatbed, while looking at the Jeep in direct sunlight, I crawled under and took a closer look. Awesome, just a spot of fluid on the quadratrac case. Everything was there, original exhaust, emissions, everything. In good condition. He tells me after I purchased the jeep that he undercoated it everyyear. I am thinking, cool. So far so good. Ilook under the hoos, everything is there, emissions canister to the little hood light ! Since I have sunlight, I take a closer look at motor, no rod visible. No excessive oil leaks ( just a 2 inch spot up front ) I then ask him to tell me the whole story on the ill fated day he garaged the jeep. He was driving along he said, and heard a BAM. No loss of power, no clinging noise. He drove it home, all was fine. Next say he started it up, no noise, no dinging/pinging nothing. He went out, and when he tried to start the jeep, it didnt. He called AAA, they jumped him, and off he went back home. Next day, it started up, he went on his way, and again, when he needed to go home, the jeep wouldnt start. He said he was pissed, and had the jeep towed home, placed in the garage. I said wow. he then said, if I tossed a fresh battery in, the jeep would probally fire up !



Sunday, I am going to check the compression on the motor, and if everything is fine, going to try and start her. I think he blew an alternator, which I know is possible, and sounds like the proper diagnostic here ( i really hope so ) The jeep has orginal 63800 miles on it.



I paid $400 for the jeep. good deal or what ? Or should I just run now and save the 10 grand over the next years of jeep ownership ( thats a joke
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If anyone wants pics, please let me know, would love to share what I think is a diamond in the rough.



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1040704

Hmm, I'm not offering aby ideas as to where to start but it sounds like you may have made a great deal on that. Just the V8 with 63000 on it could get $400.[addsig]
 
1040725

Sounds like a real beauty. Hope you have fun with it. Only drawback is probably the quadratac? Anyway good lcuk with the new toy.



Later

Steve
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1040728

After further going over, owner did not throw a rod, but spun a bearing. Going to do a total rebuild on motor anyway.



Frame is solid, can still see "new steel" after scraping away the tar and what rust there was.



Another plus, after stripping down, hood is perfect, and also TAILGATE ! WOW



My thoughts about the quadratrac exactly, but seen a part time conversion for it for around $500. That will be something to look into during re-assembly.



Question: Anyone use the POR15 at all ? Do I have to use the POR15 and also the chasis topcoat ?

Would powder coating be better for protection ?



Thanks guys[addsig]
 

1041062

I use POR-15 on all my Jeep restorations and it is an excellent product. If you're talking about doing the frame, you don't need to top coat the POR-15. POR-15 only needs to be topcoated when used in applications that will be seeing UV rays from the sun. So POR-15ing your frame, wheel wells, fender wells, engine compartment, etc is fine without a topcoat.[addsig]
 
1041087

Thanks for the info on the POR15. I was reading where anything that for long periods of time exposed to UV turns white.



Update on the Jeep.



-Motor has a spun bearing, so gonna rebuild it anyway.

-Sold some of the parts not being used/replacing etc ( very cool )

-Just took off the tub, frame is solid, just needs a new rear crossmember and 3 body mounts. But will replace all since its all apart.



Any tips on removing the motor/transmission/transfer case ? Thats the plan this weekend.

Got the cherry picker, have the engine stand, thats bout where I am at.



ohh, if you ever come across a set of torches, BUY them ! I borrowed my cousins, and man, talk about effortless !!!



I think I should have this moved to general chat now huh ?
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1041088

I think you'll be really impressed with the finish of the POR-15 as well as its durability. One tip though.... Shoot it instead of brushing it on. Especially if you'll be sand-blasting the frame down to bare metal. A basic spray gun from Sears will do a nice job, and for a few extra bucks, a moderately priced HVLP gun will pay for itself in material savings (Hardly any overspray). At $95/Gallon, every drop counts. Another advantage of shooting instead of brushing is that you can control the gloss factor by raising or lowering the air pressure at the cap not to mention the fact that you'll get a much smoother finish.



The Engine/Trans/TC is a very straight forward removal. Just make sure you have tension on your chains before you start pulling bolts. I know it sounds silly, but the obvious things are usually the things that get overlooked when you're doing a big job like this.



Good luck and let us know how it's going.



Tim[addsig]
 
1041111

I used Gator Guard on my frame to protect it. Being a spray on bed liner thats ment to be beat on it works great and looks good too. Youu might want to think about a Daystar 1" body lift sense you need 3 mounts. Daystars kit replaces all of the factory mounts any way. Good luck with your restoration



eastcoastoffroad.com



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